Are your lips Dry, Cracked and Flakey – Causes and Cures

At last, winter is now at an end but is your skin, in particular your lips, paying the price for harsh winter conditions? Are they dry, chapped and flaky,?

The average thickness of the skin on the body is 0.6 mm, on the face it is 0.12 mm , but on the lips and around they eyes, it much thinner at about 0,05mm. The protective layer of the skin – the stratum corneum (SC) is much lower too, the water content of the stratum corneum (SC) and the barrier function on the lip skin is low. and lips don’t contain oil glands like other parts of the skin. It is not surprising that our lips are more susceptible to drying out and becoming rough, dry and chapped (cracked).

Chapped lips can be caused by several factors, that include:
weather
excessive licking of the lips dehydration or malnutrition some side effects of drug and medicine infection – Cheilitis, severely dry, characterised by cracked skin at the corners of the lips and this requires medical treatment.

If your lips are already chapped there is little or no benefit in continually applying a balm to the chapped skin as the scaly skin is effectively “dead” skin that needs to be removed. Mild cracking and dry lips can be managed at home.

How to improve your lip skin

Exfoliation is they key to get the lips into tip top condition and to eradicate dry, scaly, dead or cracked skin cells. The benefits of regular exfoliation helps to even out the lip colour and texture, eradicates dead scaly skin cells and the lips look brighter after exfoliation too. Once the “dead” skin has been removed you can reap the benefits of regular application of a moisturising balm.

Natural “at-home” remedies are the best to exfoliate your dry lips because they have no harmful ingredients, like chemicals, toxins, or any other artificial components. Home remedies gently scrub the lips in the right ways to abate the dead skin cells on the lips.

Olive Oil and Sugar Lip Scrub
Sugar is one of the most efficient and natural exfoliators to scrub your lips at home. Take some sugar and a few blobs of olive oil in a small bowl. Continue to mix until you get a solid paste. Massage your lips with this exfoliator with a clean washcloth or fingertips in the circular motions. Remember, massaging should be soft. Avoid doing it more than 2 minutes. Wash your lips off with hygienic water. Now, the upper skin of your lips is open, clean and more sensitive. Your lips need a touch of hydration. Put a good lip balm on your lips to keep them soft, moisturised and hydrated.

Day long application of a lip balm is key to keeping the delicate lip skin protected so keep a lip balm with you at all times and apply regularly / before & after swimming / exercise and most importantly, before going to bed at night. A lip balm should have the following key ingredients to:

NOURISH – Omega rich Plant oils

MOISTURISE – Butters such as Shea and Cocoa butter

PROTECT – Beeswax or Vegan wax to provide a protect occlusive layer

Our 100% natural “Pure-Nutri” Lip-Balm contains all these key ingredients to keep your lips soft, moisturised and plump and with no added colour or fragrance – Gluten & Nut Free too, which is important factor if you have Coeliac Disease or have a Nut allergy.

You can also improve the condition of your lip skin by drinking more water, using a humidifier at home
and avoiding cold weather conditions, but watch out for the sun too, as this can also cause dryness on the lip skin.

If the dryness and cracking doesn’t improve with self-care and home remedies are not working, you should consider making an appointment with a your GP / Dermatologist to rule out any underlying medical conditions. .